Industry Insights

The global fiber optic connector market size was estimated at USD 3.22 billion in 2016 and is expected to gain traction over the forecast period. The global marketplace is majorly driven by the growing adoption of the fiber optic technology. The increasing preference toward high bandwidth communication and emerging opportunities in the healthcare sector are anticipated to fuel the technology market, alongside the connectors market.

The industry is anticipated to pose promising growth prospects (over the forecast period), which are stemmed by the combination of numerous factors such as growing government funding for telecommunication infrastructure development and investments & research, embarked upon by leading players, for upgrading and enlarging the solicitation frontiers. In addition, the growing awareness of the benefits of the technology is further driving market growth.

Fabricators produce fiber optic connectors, in bulk, for long-distance cabling purposes. They are made of ultra-pure quartz. The global market is anticipated to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. The high demand from sensing applications and the communication segment for diverse purposes delivers dynamic opportunities for the industry growth.

The market is witnessing considerable mergers and acquisitions, undertaken by the benefactors of the telecommunication and network service providers in their endeavors, to achieve enhanced service portfolios, by gaining access to numerous patents of the client application domain. The growing demand for power-efficient, cost-effective, and high-level network infrastructure integration in the IT sector is expected to fuel the market demand in the next few years.

Product Insights

Based on product types, the market has been segmented into SC, LC, FC, ST, MTP/MPO connectors, and others. The LC connector segment is anticipated to be the largest segment, in terms of revenue, and is anticipated to dominate the technology arena, in terms of size, by 2025.

The military & aerospace and railway application segments are poised to witness significant growth rates, owing to the increasing adoption of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) across these application segments.The military utilizes optical connector technology for a wide variety of ground, sea, air, and space solicitations, such as in avionics testing equipment modules and ground support systems in fighter planes.

The ST and FC connector segments are expected to witness considerable growth and dominate the market (in terms of growth rates) over the forecast period. However, factors, such as high initial investment, to develop and deploy new fabrication technologies, may pose a challenge to the market demand over the forecast period.

Mergers and acquisitions, to achieve advanced technology licenses, have evolved as a major part of the modern-day fiber optic industry (including the cable fabrication domain). For instance, in June 2016, Corning Incorporated (U.S.) initiated its acquisition of Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc. (AFOP) (U.S.). It planned to incorporate AFOP into its ‘Optical Communications’ business segment. Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc. designed and manufactured high-performance, passive optical components.

Application Insights

Based on applications, the market has been segmented into telecom, oil & gas, military & aerospace, BFSI, medical, railway, and other applications. The telecom application segment is anticipated to be the largest segment (in terms of revenue) and dominate the application arena, in terms of size, by 2025. Medical applications segment would witness swift progression in terms of CAGR in comparison to its other solicitation counterparts.

The medical and railway application segments are anticipated to witness significant growth rates, attributable to their growing adoption in dynamic healthcare treatment, lighting applications, deployment in railway line inspection, and load calculation applications. The technology has set forth copious new applications across the medical industry that are mainly used for the light conduction and illumination, flexible bundling, and laser delivery systems.

The growing penetration of telecommunication infrastructure in developing economies, such as China and India, is attributable to the significant growth of the technology in the region. Data transmission and communication services account for the major shares of the telecommunication application arena. Additionally, the increasing cloud-based applications, audio-video services, and Video-on-Demand (VoD) services are anticipated to stimulate the demand for growing installations.

Fiber optic market by application, 2016 (%)

The technology is undergoing continual R&D for developing low-cost technological and applications solicitations for the mass market. The technology has massive growth prospects and can be integrated into application areas such as the railway, healthcare, oil & gas, and aerospace & defense sectors.

Regional Insights

The high penetration rate of the manufacturing sector and the expanding IT & telecommunication sector are strengthening the Asia Pacific regional market. The Asia Pacific region is expected to surface as a leading region (in terms of growth and market size) over the forecast period. The regional market growth can be attributed to the growing adoption of the fiber optic technology in numerous industry verticals, specifically the telecommunications sector.

Governments of technologically-advanced countries, such as the UK, Germany, Japan, the U.S., China, and others, are in a bid to improve their network security infrastructure (on individual and country levels). Fiber optics serves as a medium to cope the increasing bandwidth requirements associated with broadband services, network operators, and broadband connection providers.

The telecom sector requires fiber optic components in their dynamic forms such as distribution cables, trunk cable forms, high density interconnect cables, and standard patch cords. Stringent regulations and standards, being imposed by the government regulating authorities and medical associations across the globe, are further driving the optical technology market in the medical sector, eventually driving the global fiber optics connectors market to grow at a notable pace over the estimated time.

Competitive Insights

The key industry participants of the market are Corning, Inc., Optical Cable Corporation, Sterlite Technologies Limited, 3M, and OFS Fitel, LLC. The extensive acceptance of internet has instigated increased adoption of fiber optic cables and systems in the telecommunication and data communication sector.

Report Scope

Attribute

Details

Base year for estimation

2016

Actual estimates/Historical data

2014 - 2016

Forecast period

2017 - 2025

Market representation

Revenue in USD Million and CAGR from 2017 to 2025

Regional scope

North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa

If you need specific market information that is not currently within the scope of the report, we will provide it to you as a part of the customization.

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the fiber optic connector market based on product, application, and regions: